Stewart on Larry King

by Brian McKim & Traci Skene on February 28th, 2006

Jon Stewart is handling this whole Oscar buildup with astonishing calm. His response to nearly every press inquiry has been either witty, disarming or both. And always funny. And his conversation with Larry King was noteworthy if for no other reason than for his defense of David Letterman‘s Oscar hosting stint from 1995, which was labeled by the cretins at MSN Entertainment as one of the “Top 10 Cringe-Inducing Oscar Moments”

In 1995, American chat show king David Letterman hosted the Oscars. His chief mistake was importing elements of his night-time show into the ceremony. To say it didn’t work is putting it mildly; it was a bigger flop than Rik Waller.

Stewart said he has the ’95 Oscarcast on tape and that he marvels every time at how good it was. He said that the lore that has sprung up over the past decade regarding that show doesn’t match the reality. It seems apparent, from this and other interviews, that Stewart’s worst fear is that he would do what he always does (and does well) but that, like Letterman, his effort would be judged harshly and wrongly. Who can’t relate to that?